Tbilisi, Georgia
Georgians forced their president to resign this week, in a bloodless revolution led by a U.S.-trained lawyer. With tens of thousands of protesters cheering outside, opposition leader Mikhail Shaakashvili led an occupation of the Parliament building, refusing to allow the deputies elected in last month’s rigged vote to take office. After a few days of defiance, Eduard Shevardnadze stepped down, reviled at home for alleged corruption. “I have never betrayed my country,” said Shevardnadze, the former Soviet foreign minister praised in the West for avoiding bloodshed when the Berlin Wall fell. “It is better that the president resign.” Parliament speaker Nino Burdzhanadze, who took over as acting president, thanked the police for not using force against demonstrators and said new elections would be held in January.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Doing the hustle: Are side gigs a sign of impending recession?In the Spotlight More workers are 'padding their finances while they can'
-
The ambiguous legal state of ectopic pregnancy careThe Explainer Rep. Kat Cammack's accusations of 'fearmongering' are the latest example of how mixed messages are complicating the debate around abortion
-
New York plans first nuclear plant in 36 yearsSpeed Read The plant, to be constructed somewhere in upstate New York, will produce enough energy to power a million homes
